Mr_Grumpums

Redraw hasn't been that bad so far. Got to level 13, and it seems like most of what I end up doing is opening with the bow and then drawing the rifle and shooting things silly as soon as they're nicely debuffed.

You mentioned that Ignite is a key power. What about Flamethrower, Full Auto, and Oil Slick Arrow?

I keep on finding new characters that "Make the game".

My SS/Fire Brute is a damage monster who muscles through missions at high speeds.

My Elec/Ice Dominator took his Incarnate powers and became a safe, high-powered character who can layer on control like nobody's business.

My Mind/Fire Dom plays VERY differently. It focuses on ranged attacks while enemies are passed out, attacking one another, or standing there clawing at their own faces.

My Ill/Rad Controller is an AV hunter, a team supporter, and an all-around nasty piece of work. His concept and appearance do a lot to make me love him.

My Fire/Shield Scrapper, like my Ill/Rad, hunts AVs and EBs and has a great concept. How many other characters have a name as great as "Grinferno"?

I love my Fire/Kin Corr even more now that he has the Mind APP. It really doesn't feel fair, what he can do to wreck enemies before they can even react.

My DM/Nin Stalker is a lot of fun. With Touch of Fear and Blinding Powder, I don't much notice a lack in AoE damage. He survives everything, and he can even solo some AVs. Another toon with a fun concept and costume.

Just rolled up an Assault Rifle/Trick Arrow Corr that I have high hopes for. Glue Arrow, Oil Slick Arrow, Ignite, Flamethrower, and Full Auto, plus /TA's debuffs...I'm looking forward to seeing if the animation times and Endurance cost will be too harsh a hurdle to overcome.

But this is just me.

Howdy! I just rolled up an AR/TA Corrupter with the hope of making it into the following:
-Softcapped for Ranged Defense, or close enough that a single purple insp will get him there.
-High Recharge
-Able to handle the endurance of its powers with minimal downtime.
-Use Reactive Integration in order to boosts its damage
-Use Ageless Destiny to further boost Recharge/Recovery
-Judgment! Enough said there.
-Have a Lore pet which can double as an aggro magnet.

My questions are:
-Would this be a viable character?
-Which Alpha would you take, Cardiac or Spiritual?
-Which Patron/Ancillary pool would you suggest?

I wish I had Mids to be able to tweak the build myself, but I'm a Mac user. I'd be overjoyed if someone posted a build, but I'd be happy if someone just confirmed/denied that it could be done without murdering the character's effectiveness.

Thanks much! You all have a nice Memorial Day.

There is redundant, and there is stacking ridiculous amounts of power.

This combo has two heals, two endurance recovery powers, Soul Drain, strong ST damage, nice burst PBAoE damage from Burn and Blazing Aura, decent mez protection, and mediocre defenses.

Its greatest weaknesses stem from Fiery Armor lacking overall resistance, and Dark Melee not offering some kind of mitigation.

Slotting for Recharge and defense will take care of a lot of your problems, especially if you take Soul Mastery and get Shadow Meld.

I guess I would compare a fully finished DM/Fire with some sort of defense softcap to a DM/Shield in terms of overall DPS. It may lack Against All Odds, but Burn recharges a lot faster than Shield Charge.

I don't have Mids, or else I'd try and whip a build up for you, but I can give a nice Link that I used when making up my Permadom build. I'd also like to remind you that the usual magic number for Permadom with Hasten is at 80% Recharge. Without Hasten, I THINK it's something around 120%. I'm going to assume you're picking Hasten simply because it's cheaper than cramming an extra 40% of Global Recharge into your build.

This is the Paragon Wiki page that lists every IO set in the game that boosts recharge. It also says how much the Recharge bonus is, and how many of the set you'll need to get the bonus: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Catego...prove_Recharge

As for suggestions on cheaper IO sets:

4 Expedient Reinforcements thrown into Fire Imps will give a nice 6.25% Recharge for a pretty low price at the Black Market.

I personally like putting Basilisk's Gaze into Cinders. It buffs the power "enough" while giving a nice 7.5% Recharge bonus at only 4 slots. It's a touch more expensive than Expedient Reinforcement, but I didn't find them hard to afford.

Positron's Blast isn't all that expensive anymore, and can go into Fire Breath or any other Targeted AoE power. 5 slots gives 6.25% Recharge.

Sting of the Manticore give 7.5% Recharge for 5 slots, and can go into Blazing Bolt. Just realized that I didn't mention Blazing Bolt at all in my last post. >.>

Devastation gives 6.25% Recharge when 5-slotted, and you can put this set into Flares, Fire Blast, AND Blaze for a combined 18.75% Recharge. I'd replace it with Apocalypse later for Blaze when you have more cash, though.

You can always throw a LotG: Recharge into Maneuvers or any other Defense power for 7.5% Recharge.

I love my Elec/Ice Dom. I loved leveling it so much that I went and made an Elec/Psy Dom for fun.

I have only two problems with the set. Synaptic Charge seems to have a relatively short "Jump Range" while taking a longer time to jump from enemy to enemy than Jolting Chain. This can lead to you getting far fewer enemies effected than you planned on. Second, knockback can DESTROY your enemy grouping. While being able to use Jolting Chain on immobilized enemies is a huge plus early in the game, when teaming you'll find that blasters and brutes who are reckless with their AoE will send each and every enemy flying out of your Stasis Field.

Electric Control, due to its combination of Endurance drain, soft control, and hard control, is one of the better sets in the game for dominators and controllers alike. It works extremely well on teams, but due to the delay in the activation of Synaptic Charge and the set's weakness to KB I think you'll find that solo will be easier at times.

Night Widows are for making one of the strongest melee characters in the game. They have Toxic DoT in their attacks, fast recharging hits, enough defense to make softcapping almost easy, stealth...Basically, it's something between a Claws/SR Stalker with Toxic DoT and a Scrapper, plus team buffs (Leadership powers and Mind Link), a few psychic powers to choose if you wish, and Smoke Grenade, which I didn't find all that useful. When made right, they're some of the most powerful characters in the game.

Fire/Fire/Fire APP.

I like the Fire Mastery Ancillary Power Pool best for /Fire Dominators when working their way up to level 50 because both Rain of Fire and Fireball work with Fiery Embrace for big damage in the 40's. Some people like to grab the Ice APP after getting the Reactive Interface Incarnate Proc because of the extra damage and control from Sleet and Ice Storm, but when leveling, I think the Fire APP is best.

The important powers for you to get from your PRIMARY when leveling are as follows:

Char: Your ST Hold. I hate to sound rude, but "Durr." At least 4-slot it, but hopefully 5-6 slot it. Accuracy, Recharge, Hold Duration, and maybe Endurance.

Fire Cages: Your AoE Immobilize and a lovely source of damage. Slot for Endurance, Accuracy, Recharge, and Damage (If you can swing it). I'd at least 4-slot it.

Flashfire: Your AoE Stun. Pair with Fire Cages for your main control combo from when you get it to level 50. Slot for Accuracy, Recharge, Endurance, and Stun Duration. At least 5-slot this puppy.

Fire Imps: These insane pets will make you smile as they destroy everything in your path. Be careful not to let them wander off into mobs before you or your team are ready. 5-6 slot for damage, recharge, and maybe accuracy. I like putting Recharge-Intensive Pet IOs in this power so that your Imps can be resummoned ASAP.

Powers you might certainly LIKE from your Primary:

Hot Feet: This Damage Aura is great for a controller, especially a Fire/Rad or Fire/Kin. For Dominators who possess a whole secondary dedicated to damage, you might not feel the need to use it. 4-5 slot for Damage, Endurance, and Accuracy, but I'd personally put in an Obliteration set for the Recharge bonus.

Cinders: A PBAoE Hold with a short animation time and a bit of a disappointing duration. It' a good emergency power, especially if you're in Domination at the time you activate it. Personally, I'd 4-slot it with the Basilisk's Gaze set at level 35 and leave it.

Powers from your Primary to SKIP:

Smoke: This power lowers enemy perception and ToHit, but not enough to really help you do anything other than Stealth missions. Even then, you'd be better served by grabbing Stealth and picking Super Speed (which has a stealth component to the power) for your travel power for more permanent and less annoying mission Stealthing.

Bonfire: This is basically only good for blocking doors and bouncing enemies around in corners. If you have no other power you'd like to take at level 49, then by all means get this one and have fun with it. Otherwise, I'd skip it over.

Powers you want from your SECONDARY no matter what:

Flares: You have to take it, and it isn't bad for a level 1 ST blast when all is said and done. When leveling, I would leave it 1-slotted for Accuracy. At level 50, you may want to add slots for IO bonuses.

Fire Blast: This is a stronger version of Flares with a slower recharge and less DoT (I think). It's a very useful power, and you'll find yourself using it often. 5-slot for Damage, Accuracy, and Recharge.

Fiery Embrace: This is one of the best powers you have at your disposal. It cranks ALL of the damage you do by 80% for quite a while (I think 30 seconds or so). Unless you ABSOLUTELY NEED another power at level 18, get this one immediately. At most, I would put in 3 Recharge IOs on this power, but if you're starved for slots it won't murder you to only have 1 or 2.

Consume: This power restores a big chunk of Endurance, which you'll end up needing with all the powers you'll be flinging around. You have to be in melee range to do it, so make sure and lock down enemies or have them paying attention to someone else before you use it. 3-5 slot for Endurance Recovery, Recharge, and Accuracy.

Blaze: This is your strongest Single Target attack, and when you 6-slot it for Damage, Recharge, and Accuracy (Maybe a bit of endurance reduction,too), you'll love it.

Powers you MIGHT want from your Secondary:

Incinerate: This is a power that deals a very respectable amount of DoT to an enemy in Melee range. The damage IS good, but being so close to melee range and the power taking time to deal its damage mean it can be risky to use in early levels. 4-5 slots of the usual slotting for an attack ought to be all it needs.

Fire Breath: This is a real love it or leave it power. The cone is short and narrow, but the damage is quite good after it's been given 5-6 slots (including a range increase Enhancement), and with practice you can get several enemies lined up. The only other drawback is the long animation time which roots you in place.

Combustion: This is another power that deals DoT in melee range, but, unlike Incinerate, Combustion deals damage to every enemy around you. The DoT ticks are fairly slow, and the animation, like Fire Breath, seems unduly long and roots you in place. This is another power I would give 5-6 slots of the usual Damage/Accuracy/Recharge/End. Redux slotting.

Powers you'll Want:

Hasten: The more you spam your powers, the faster Domination comes up, and you WANT Domination. It will also bring up Flashfire and Fiery Embrace more quickly, which makes you mow through missions with a minimum if difficulty. I LOVE this power on Dominators. 3-slot for recharge only.

Fireball and Rain of Fire from the Fire Mastery APP. These powers work with Fiery Embrace to add significantly to your damage in the 40s. Rise of the Phoenix is another great power from the set that helps keep downtime to a minimum.

Hope this helps organize your thoughts a bit.

I've enjoyed the Spiderlings on my Fire/MM/Mace Blaster so far. They're not the fastest killers out there, but they tend to find targets and open fire. They're impressively durable, so I've often used them like a miniature Phantom Army by throwing them in the middle of a group of enemies from max distance and letting them take the alpha while my Blaster hits Build Up and fireballs the mob into oblivion from range.

My build is very different from this one, though. I'd post it on Mids, but, well, I'm on a Mac. Rather than Jumping and Fighting, I went for Stealth and Flight (flight for concept reasons).

Easy answer for me. I try and put my buff where they make the team move along the fastest.

Sometimes the SS/Fire Brute doesn't need a damage buff. Gasp! Give it to another person on the team to raise their damage, and that character will add APPRECIABLY more damage per buff than the single flaming nightmare Brute with all others being lackluster.

If the tanker is cruising along fine with just a heal now and again and the Dominator next to him could become Perma with a single application of Fortitude, guess which one I'm going to give Fortitude.

One particular character dying so much that you have to constantly rez him? That's stealing time you could be using more wisely. Buff him up, tell him to hang back, and keep moving.

This isn't to say that you should always give your buffs to the weakest/strongest character on the team, of course. Just use them where they make the biggest difference for the while group.

Archery/Energy is the ticket to an extreme range Blaster. Get enough recharge to make Boost Range Perma and then unload far enough away that enemies can't touch you. This is the "Archer on the Tower" build, and I have a lot of fun with it on outdoor maps. Crank up higher recharge for additional RoA goodness to boost your DPS.

Archery/Mental is supposedly a Blasting superstar, or at least I've seen some very strong ones. How it works, though is beyond me.

Diamagnetic.

I'd like a Click power that only affects YOU, rather than a Destiny power that affects the whole team. If that doesn't work, then a click power that boosts different attributes, like damage and ToHit. It'd be cool if you could throw a level shift in there, too, for the power's duration.

Maybe a ST/AoE Debuff/Mez/Hold could be arranged? I worry that it might overlap with Judgment, but those debuffs aren't all a sure thing.

A PBAoE attack with a shorter recharge and lower damage on a comparable scale to Judgement, or even a LONGER recharge duration with a similar increase in damage. If the Statesmen of the Multiverse can lightning punch the ground, I want to be able to, also. Fire punch would also be acceptable, as would dark shadow punchin' and Ice explosion punchin'.

A passive Defense/Resistance/Regen/Recovery/Mez protection power, like Integration but for your survivability rather than your attacks. There are a lot of ways you could split it up to give a variety of effects. Defense/Recovery tree, a Resistance/Mez Protection tree, a Regen/Recharge tree or something along those lines.

Wait...Why are people saying that Sonic/Sonic isn't incredible?

I mean, I probably do prefer it as a Defender for more massive buffs/debuffs, but come on! It's one of the best sets out there for making steamroller teams. Two Sonic/Sonic Corrupters will make a team tough as leather while turning enemies into mush. People complain that you aren't "Healorz"? Grab the Rebirth Destiny Incarnate for a massive PBAoE Heal.

It might not be a Fire/Kin Corr when it comes to raw damage output, but who cares? That's what you have other people for.

I'd also go for a Mind/Fire Dom. They're one of the most powerful dominator power combos in the game, if not THE most powerful.

I love my Elec/Ice/Cold to death, especially since he's gone permadom and fixed his damage issues with Incarnate powers. It's my current red side main, eclipsing an awesome Fire/Kin/Psy Corr simply by its sheer versatility and how COOL it looks.

A Mind/Fire, however, probably has much higher damage and comparable, if not stronger, control.

You might want to try an Elec/Psy Dominator. It's got a lot of control, great mezzes, very solid damage, and you can use both Conductive Aura AND Drain Psyche to keep yourself going.

After running my Elec/Ice/Cold Dom with the Reactive Integration Proc, I can safely say that it heavily augments damage, especially sets to cascading DoT (Rain of Fire, Ice Storm, Sleet, Caltrops, etc). I was wondering WHICH Primary/Secondary/APP(or PPP) combo would be MOST able to take advantage of this without hurting the dominator's ability to lock down enemies.

What I'm thinking, without looking at any numbers, is that it would be something along the lines of a Plant/Thorn/Ice or a Fire/Fire/Ice Dominator, but I'd love to hear other suggestions or opinions on the Integration Proc and how it has altered how people play their doms, be it Reactive, Diamagnetic, or one of the other two options to choose from.

I think that the Force Feedback Proc only works with the initial attack, all the rest or the chain being some other type of thing. It might trigger all the time with a 20% chance on an AoE attack, but I wouldn't rely on it making a big difference in a single target hit.

I tried this with Stasis Field and the Chance to Heal proc, and I was GREATLY saddened when it didn't work. Only the initial sleep effect occurred on the patch, not the follow-up sleep pulses that make it such a great power. Man, that much heal proc'ing would have been awesome.

Got another LotG: Recharge in the build today, and...Wow. He's a sapping, sleeping, Reactive spamming Permadom machine. I made this character to be sort of a melee Dom, but I find myself playing it by bouncing in and out of melee based on the situation.

Earth Assault is just fine, thank you very much. It deals very solid damage and can be downright nasty when paired up with the right primary. It IS a melee set, but I've found that both Electric Control and Earth Control work very well with toons that hop into melee, ESPECIALLY Electric control. Also, the animation time feels very quick compared to other sets.

My Elec/Ice/Cold Dominator is currently at Tier 2 Musculature and two Taskforces away from being Tier 3. I also have Ionic Judgment, Reactive Integration, the Supporting Seer Lore, and the Regeneration Rebirth Destiny at Tier 3. Diamagnetic Integration is at Tier 2, lacking only a rare to become Tier 3.

IO-wise, he's at 73.75% Global Recharge. That's "barely there" Permadom country. His S/L Defense is around, oh 28% at the moment because I was really focusing on the Recharge.

Reactive Integration along with all that recharge has made him into a Dominator with surprisingly crazy AoE damage. Sleet and Ice Storm, along with heavily spammed Electric Cages (Which I currently have 5-slotted with Gravitational Anchors), really make strong use of the 75% chance to activate Reactive's DoT, but the fast animating and recharging attacks from Icy Assault also deal improved damage. Unfortunately, it makes Static Field take a back seat unless I'm spamming powers to sap endurance, but the high recharge on Synaptic Charge and Jolting Chain (Yes, I still use Jolting Chain at level 50) keep enemies off their feet or attacking each other.

For teams that already have high damage (Teaming with a bunch of blasters, /kin corrupters, and SS Brutes) and would steamroll anyway, I swap Reactive out for Diamagnetic and step back into a more supporting role. After all, this toon can REALLY drain endurance, and the -ToHit debuff is quite nice for when enemies actually have enough endurance to throw out a couple of attacks.

You don't pick Hasten because you hate the effects? But it's one of the best powers in the game! Hasten is a GLOBAL 70% recharge. It doesn't get any better. The recharge cap is so high that you can still grab all kinds of IO recharge bonuses on top of it.

Look, if you want to upgrade your Brute's performance, pick up Hasten, the Cardiac Alpha, and Stalagmites. Even without Hasten, your mighty SS attacks will take up a good chunk of Endurance, and you also have Rage crashes to deal with. Cardiac helps you come back from Rage crashes, makes your numerous toggles cost less...It's a great help for a character with high endurance usage and no Endurance Recovery powers.

I guess you COULD get both Cardiac and Energy Mastery. I've seen people do that on SD/SS Tankers and pop Conserve Power when their blue bar gets low.

Also, you may want to put a Force Feedback: -Recharge Proc into both Foot Stomp and Shield Charge. The proc almost always activates when you use those powers against groups of five enemies or more when I use it, and the recharge boost is a tremendous help.

Good luck!

Rebirth is a GREAT pick, especially if you work out a rhythm on when to use it with other people on your team who have Rebirth. You either get big shots of regeneration or big shots of extra health.

A Blaster friend of mine claims that she can use Ageless to stave off the crash from nuking, and I know my SS/Fire Brute loves it.

Barrier is good for an "Oh crap save the team!" power. If you got PFF from Force Mastery, then I guess you might not care about it, though.

Clarion...Well I can see the use for Blasters, but I'd rather carry the break free insps and boost things that you CAN'T boost with inspirations. I've seen a lot of blasters put this power to good use, but my persona preference is to leave this one alone.